Transit in YYZ without clearing Immigrations?
 

A colleague who is a native of Peru needs to travel to Europe and is curious if she can fly on AC on the nonstop from LIM to YYZ then connect to MUC or FRA without clearing immigrations and customs. Has YYZ become a transit-friendly airport?

/ 05DEC09 / 2346 UTC



National Peru (PE) /Transit Canada (CA)
Destination Germany (DE)
ALSO CHECK DESTINATION INFORMATION BELOW


Canada (CA)


Visa required.

Additional Information:

- Visitor seeking entry may be required to produce documentary
evidence to establish, to the satisfaction of an immigration

officer,For details, click here
Warning:
- Visitors not complying with entry requirements may be
refused admission into Canada and deported at carrier's
expense. For details, click here


Germany (DE)



Passport required.
- Passports and/or passport replacing documents must be valid
for the period of intended stay.

Visa required.

Minors:
- Minors aged up to/incl. 15 years of age may be included in
the passport of a parent or guardian, provided
For details, click here
Additional Information:

- Visitors must hold visible means of support, onward/return
tickets or evidence of continuing journey by other means of

transport and/or other documents required for next
destination.

For details, click here
Warning:
- Passports must be signed by the bearer. Passports that do
not contain the signature of the bearer, will not be
considered as a valid travel document and the traveller
shall be considered as inadmissible into Germany.
- The Schengen agreement went into effect on March 26, 1995.
For details, click here
- Non-compliance with the entry/transit requirements (incl.
forged documents and unsigned passports) results in:
For details, click here

CHECK TINEWS/N1 - SCHENGEN ANNOUNCES NEW VISA EXEMPTIONS,
EFFECTIVE 19 DECEMBER 2009



Timaticweb Version 1.3
05 December 2009

See this link.
http://www.airportwayfinder.com/wayfinders/yyz/?v=3_6
Go to
"Terminal 1 Connections" and then "International to International" for the video.

Your friend will go through "Customs B" - generally a cursory customs/immigration check. So more transit friendly than the US, but not as friendly as Europe.
But this only works if your friend arrives in Terminal 1 and their bags are checked through to Europe.

Hope this helps

The question if one is from a country who needs a visa when entering Canada; does that person still need a visa when going through customs B, for such type of international flight to internation flight transit?

http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/travel-vo...t-iiv-eng.html
http://www.cic.gc.ca/English/departm...2009-07-30.asp

It appears that one may only transit without a Visa if the USA is your origin or destination, and if one is a national of certain countries, flying on certain airlines, arriving at certain times... And so, regardless of whether or not "Intl-to-Intl" without a visa is permitted, neither Air Canada or LAN are participating airlines.

where is the list of approved airlines, participating in this program?

I just noticed it only works at YVR too... so this option is a really moot point for the OP

So in Toronto, it means that the visa requirements whether one goes through Customs A, and enters the landside of the airport, or goes through Customs B, and stays airside, are identical?

You are, in fact, entering Canada either way.

But if you're only staying in Canada for a matter of a few hours, and you're not leaving the secure area, then what is the point of requiring a visa? It's just a waste of personnel time, for them having to process the visa, as well as the traveler's time and money.

Maybe some day more airlines will be added to the exempt list.

What if you surreptitiously don't fly out? Oe, what if all passengers, with whom you are co-mingling, have to leave the gate area due to IROPs?

A normal international transit area doesn't allow you to leave the gate area without going through customs/immigration. (I believe this is the case in YYZ T1, though I've never gone through it.) And because of this, most airports that I have used that have this (*outside* of North America!) don't bother processing you when you are in transit.

The exception to this rule is if you're flying Intl->USA at YYZ. You go directly to US Immigration, and never talk to a Canadian border agent.

Lest the OP become confused by these two examples of altered circumstances:

In fact one must still satisfy Canadian immigration requirements. There is no inherent visa/passport waiver for this connection. If the USA declines to accept you, they will "send" you to Canada.


The Eurpean model doesn't exist here. Interesting anecdote your comment may be, but the OP will not gain from it as the model at YYZ, which you say you have never gone through (T1 at least), is in fact closer to the "normal international transit area" for North America than not.

Yes, a transit visa would have to be obtained in advance from a Canadian mission abroad. There is no fee for this service.